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Zechariah 3

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1 And He showed me Joshua the great priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan* standing at his right·​·hand to oppose him.

2 And Jehovah said to Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, Satan. And Jehovah, who has chosen Jerusalem, will rebuke thee. Is not this a firebrand rescued out·​·of the fire?

3 And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

4 And he answered and said to those who stood before him, saying, Remove the filthy garments from on him. And to him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from on thee, and I will clothe thee with a change·​·of·​·vestment.

5 And I said, Let them set a clean tiara on his head. And they set the clean tiara on his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by.

6 And the angel of Jehovah testified to Joshua, saying,

7 Thus says Jehovah of Armies: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also make·​·judgment for My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these who stand.

8 Hear now, O Joshua the great priest, thou, and thy companions sitting before thee; for these men are a portent; for, behold, I will cause My Servant the Growing·​·Branch to come.

9 For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua: on one stone shall be seven eyes; behold, I will engrave its engraving, says Jehovah of Armies, and I will withdraw the iniquity of that land in one day.

10 In that day, says Jehovah of Armies, you shall call, a man to his companion, under the vine and under the fig·​·tree.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 2362

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2362. That 'behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man' means the affections for good and for truth is clear from the meaning of 'daughters' as affections, dealt with in 489-491. 'They have not known a man' means that they have not been defiled by falsity, for 'a man' means rational truth, and also in the contrary sense falsity, 265, 749, 1007. There are two types of affection, namely the affection for good and the affection for truth, see 1997. The first - the affection for good - constitutes the celestial church and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Zion' and also 'the virgin daughter of Zion'.

[2] But the second - the affection for truth - constitutes the spiritual church, and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem'; as in Isaiah,

She has despised you, she has scorned you, the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Isaiah 37:22; 2 Kings 19:21.

In Jeremiah,

What shall I liken you to, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equate you with and comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? Lamentations 2:13.

In Micah,

You, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you will it come and the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Micah 4:8.

In Zephaniah,

Shout with joy, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! Zephaniah 3:14.

In Zechariah,

Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king will come to you. Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15.

[3] That the celestial Church, which is the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Zion' from the affection for good, that is, from love to the Lord Himself, see in addition Isaiah 10:32; 16:1; 52:2; 62:11; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:2, 23; Lamentations 1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10; Micah 4:10, 13; Zechariah 2:10; Psalms 9:14. And that the spiritual Church, which is the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem' from the affection for truth and so from charity towards the neighbour, see Lamentations 2:15. Both of those Churches, and the nature of each one, have been dealt with many times in Volume One.

[4] Because the celestial Church exists from love to the Lord which is present within love towards the neighbour it is likened in particular to an unmarried daughter or a virgin. Indeed it is also called 'a virgin', as in John,

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes; for they are spotless before God's throne. Revelation 14:4-5.

And so that the same might be represented in the Jewish Church, the priests were commanded not to marry widows but virgins, Leviticus 21:13-15; Ezekiel 44:22.

[5] From the contents of the present verse it becomes clear how pure the Word is in the internal sense, however else it may appear in the letter. For when these words are read, 'Behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man; let me now bring them out to you and you may do to them as is good in your eyes; only do nothing to those men', nothing else comes to mind than something impure, especially to those leading an evil life. Yet how chaste these words are in the internal sense is evident from the explanation already given, which is that they mean the affections for good and truth and the blessedness perceived from the enjoyment of those affections by people who do no violence to the Lord's Divinity and [proceeding] Holiness.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.